Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
New flu strain putting severe pressure on healthcare across Europe, says WHO
Guardian At least 27 of 38 countries in WHO’s European region are reporting high or very high influenza activity, body says. An intense surge in flu cases driven by a newly dominant virus strain is sweeping across Europe, placing healthcare systems in several countries under severe pressure, the World Health Organization has said. The WHO said on […]
Dec 17, 2025
Is bird flu the next pandemic? The science so far
Nature Bird flu is spreading. The avian influenza virus H5N1 has been recorded around the world — in poultry, in wild birds and in mammals, including humans. So, should we be worried about a potential new pandemic? And what can we do about it? This animation looks at what science says so far.
Dec 17, 2025
Missouri: Birds are dying around KC from fast-spreading strain of avian flu. What to know
Kansas City Birds have been getting sick and dying in the Kansas City metro due to a rapidly-spreading strain of avian influenza, according to biologists and veterinarians. The highly pathogenic Eurasian H5N1 strain of bird flu began causing problems for North American poultry and wild birds in February 2022. The outbreak continues to have an […]
Dec 17, 2025
South Carolina: Nearly 30 new cases reported in Upstate measles outbreak
Fox Carolina The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) is reporting 27 new cases of measles in the state since Friday. The new cases bring the total number of cases related to the Upstate outbreak to 111 and the total number reported to DPH this year to 114. Officials said that 16 of the new cases […]
Dec 17, 2025
Experts predict this year’s flu season to be worse than usual—here’s why
National Geographic Every year, flu season in North America starts to peak around the holiday season. But this year, doctors and researchers are especially worried. “We will have a significant flu season this year, and we have a lot of concern that it’s going to be more severe than typical,” says Richard Martinello, an infectious diseases […]
Dec 17, 2025
New mpox strain identified in England
BBC A new strain of mpox, previously called monkeypox, has been detected in a person in England, say UK health officials. The virus is a mix of two major types of the mpox virus, and was found in someone who recently returned from travelling in Asia. Officials say they are still assessing the significance of […]
Dec 10, 2025
World’s first Phase II Nipah virus vaccine trial launch
Oxford Vaccine Group The trial, conducted in Bangladesh in partnership with the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), and funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), will assess the safety and immune response of the ChAdOx1 NipahB vaccine in a region where the virus causes recurrent outbreaks. The trial started earlier […]
Dec 10, 2025
Hidden infections may play a key role in driving long COVID symptoms
Medical News.Net For millions suffering from long COVID, their persistent breathlessness, brain fog and fatigue remain a maddening mystery, but a group of leading microbiologists think they may have cracked the case. The culprit for some long COVID cases, they suggest, might be other infections that accompany SARS-CoV-2. A review published in eLife by 17 experts, including […]
Dec 10, 2025
Long-COVID research just got a big funding boost: will it find new treatments?
Nature The German government has committed half a billion euros to research into long COVID and other post-infection syndromes. In a major boost to research on long COVID and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), the German government has announced that it will provide €500 million (US$582 million) in research funding […]
Dec 10, 2025
Here’s why the measles outbreak just took a dangerous new turn
Axios Scientists are warning that the ongoing measles outbreak might force the United States to lose its elimination status for the first time in decades. The big picture: For 25 years, the U.S. has been free of yearly measles outbreaks. But this year’s spike in cases and sustained outbreaks could change that. Driving the news: The U.S. is on track to […]
Dec 10, 2025